NEWBERG, Ore. - Cal Lutheran will head to the campus of George Fox University and take on the host Bruins in the opening round of the 2012 Division III Women's Basketball NCAA Tournament on Friday, March 2.

Bracket: 2012 NCAA Tournament

It was a highly anticipated announcement for the players and coaching staff of the Cal Lutheran women's basketball program on Monday morning. All parties involved were able to confirm their speculations following the official announcement during the NCAA selection show.

Cell phones were out and social media pages updated with messages from players excited about the opportunity to take part in "March Madness." It will be Cal Lutheran's seventh overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and first since 2006.

Cal Lutheran earned the automatic qualifying berth into the tournament after winning the SCIAC Post-Season Tournament. George Fox kept its undefeated season in tact after winning both the Northwest Conference regular season and tournament titles.

George Fox is one of 16 schools that will host first and second round contests of the tournament. Lewis & Clark will face Concordia (TX) in the other first round match-up. The winners of Friday's contests will meet on Saturday at the Wheeler Sports Center on the George Fox campus.

Cal Lutheran and George Fox met earlier this season in Thousand Oaks with the Bruins earning a 63-51 victory over the Regals back on Nov. 27, 2011. In their previous meeting back in 2009, Cal Lutheran defeated the then defending national champions George Fox, ending the Bruins' 36-game win streak.

CLU senior guard Meaghan Goodenough played 30 minutes in that 2009 victory. That win, along with playoff road triumphs over Occidental and Redlands last week have given this year's squad the confidence to take on all-comers.